flutterbye

Ok, I'm dropping my very very small candle business and taking it back to hobby and am looking for a full time job once again. For those of you that have done this or maybe any employers out there...How would you reccommend describing your business on a resume or application? Because I dont have an "employer" or typical "salary" or anything like that. Do employers kinda frown upon seeing self employed on a resume? Should I just leave it out and not mention it? But then how do I explain what I have been doing for the past year...Any input or suggestions would really help me out as come Monday, the resumes go out & I desperately need a job. :undecided

I usually figure out exactly how much space I have under my booth and in my bins, etc. and make and bring enough to completely pack it. You never know what someone will want or what will be the hot seller, so I bring as much as I can fit. If you dont sell it, save it for the next show. I even do this for smaller shows and always am glad I did. Good luck at your show!

You will have fun, trust me! I was sooo nearvous at my first show. But once it starts and you start interacting with the customers (people who come to craft shows are almost always very nice and kind people) you will be too busy to be worried. The above thread is VERY helpful. One new thing I've learned is make sure you have a way out from behind your booth. My last show, I was against the wall in a 8x5' spot, had an 8' table and everyone else on both sides of me had their booths positioned to where I was trapped and had to move stock & crawl under my table to get out everytime I restocked or had to leave. Each show is a learning experience to improve for the next. Have fun!

I've gotton a few emails saying how much they liked my product, but never anything negative (knock on wood). But I feel that if they dislike or have a problem with their product, they'll let me know. Otherwise I just assume they are satisfied. grama said it right with "No news is good news". But Maybe you could offer a coupon with a discount code for your site with their order saying to complete a short survey on how they felt about the product and recieve 15% or however much off your next order. That might get people to respond. Or maybe put a page on your site with a short form of questions asking what product they purchased, how they liked it, scents they would like to see you add, etc...Or send them an email a week or so later with a quick survey offering them a discount upon completion..I dont know...just a few ideas..:smiley2:

ok....but has anyone actually had success pouring one in a round 2 piece ball mold, maybe doing like you would a hurricane? Guess I'll just order one and find out.

Well, just tried it out...It would have been perfect except the balloon popped. And I use the helium quality balloons..Are there any other ways to make an orb without the water in the balloon technique?

Thanks guys! I am going to try holding it in the wax awhile as to just have one layer. Hope I dont splatter water and wax all over my pretty kitchen!

So you only dip once? I've read somewhere that you just hold it in the wax until its thick enough, but isnt there a pretty good chance your balloon may bust?

I have been trying to get these orbs right for a few weeks now. The layers never seem to adhere and when you light the tea light on the inside, you see dark 'shadows' all over it where the layers are coming apart. I'm using IGI 1260 and dipping at around 160 degrees. I've tried cooler and warmer temps, but am getting the same results. You are suppose to dip it more than once, right? What am I doing wrong?

After looking up each ingredient of the WSPs goats milk, I've definately decided to go with the SFIC! Wow, all I can say is I do not want some of those things in my soaps. This was interesting.. http://antiagingchoices.com/harmful_ingredients/propylene_glycol.htm I'm a pretty strong believer in NOT putting unnessecary chemicals on the skin. After having severe acne for years, trying all those chemicals that were supposed to clear it up, it only got worse and irritated. Then I started washing my face with an all natural soap and stopped wearing makeup and it cleared right up. I just had no idea that stuff like this was in soaps and cosmetics...Thought most mp bases were all natural.. Anyways, Thanks for all your replies!

Sorry for this dumb question...What exactly are SFIC bases and how do you know which is SFIC? I've been leaning toward Peaks, but their prices are a lot higher...

Hello soapers! I am a candlemaker but am starting to play around soaps. I am wanting to use goats milk as my mp base but am having trouble deciding which is best. I've read WSP is best, but Peaks has a few different ingredients listed in theirs like coconut & castor oil. I was just wondering if anyone out there has used these and can guide me into the right direction on which to choose or give me some pros and cons on each in comparison.

That is great! I box my hurricanes in 6x6x6" boxes and they never fit in the flat rate boxes before, too tall. Now I could fit two in a flat rate box! Thanks for bringing this to our attention!

I am sereiously considering it...espically after todays show. People just aren't spending money like they used to...especially on candles. They can walk into almost any store and buy some mass produced, crappy product and be just as happy with it as they would one of our candles. I know there are exceptions though... And with with things like gas, groceries, utilities going up and up, people have less money to spend on things that aren't absolutely necessary, Including us candlemakers! Supplies & shipping are expensive and only getting higher. Its hard to keep up financially. It just isn't fun anymore for me now that I rely on it as an income. I may cut my line down to just wedding and special event candles and be done with all this craft fair stuff and go back to my 9-5 job. At least then when it's 5:00, you know work is done and over for the day as opposed to staying up at all hours of the night finishing orders, labels, etc....Can you tell I had a bad day? :smiley2: I need a drink....

Congrats! That is Amazing! :whoohoo:

Aww...Thank You!!

Thanks everyone for your replies, It makes me feel a lot better. I wont be cancelling my next shows...But I will never leave my stuff anywhere overnight again. It will be a pita to load and unload my stuff all weekend, But thats what our men are for! :smiley2:

Just finished up my recent show. This was the worst craft fair ever! I only sold a scented bear. Thats it! And the worst part. I left my bins under my table and covered the whole table with a sheet, like pretty much everyone there, and the next day I found that some of my stuff was stolen, 2 other booths around me had something stolen and another had their cover removed! WTF! Obviously security is not good there. I'm so discouraged. I'm tempted to cancel the other 3 shows this season. And the person in charge of the show of course cant compensate me but offered to waive the next seasons shows fee. I said no and will never do another show with them....So much work goes into setting up your display, sitting there all weekend, etc. And then to wind up with a loss of profit because items were stolen just makes me ill! Sorry, but I needed to vent. Anyone else ever had their products stolen at a show?

You dip plush bears into highly scented wax, fluff them up, decorate them and sell them as air fresheners. They work pretty well. Mine seem to scent better than most of those plug in air fresheners. Plus you have endless posibilities on fragrances to use. And they are adorable imo. :smiley2: Thanks for everyones responses! I may try the 1343 next. I've dropped pillars from my line so I don't really need the 4045H anymore, just using it cause I have an extra case. Maybe add some beeswax? someone said that will help with the flakes..Thanks again!

I've read through the old posts and it seems like everyone uses a different wax to dip there bears in. But nobody has really talked about the wax that gives the best cold throw for dipped bears. I am using my 4045H with 1.5 oz FO pp currently and it seems to be working fine, but I know there has to be a better wax out there that will give off a better cold throw, so I was looking for opinions on which wax will offer the best scent throw. I have only tried my old j223, but it is too soft and sticky...Any input would be greatly appreciated!

I am looking to package my 6 inch scented bears in clear tuck top boxes for shows, so the customer can see the bear but the scent is still contained. I dont like the look of cello bags..They will fit in a 6x6x6" box. Has anyone seen these boxes offered anywhere in small quantities? Vinyl, pvc, anything just as long as its clear. I cant spend tons of money and dont need 250. So if anyone knows of a place or at least a place thats cheaper than uline or papermart, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks.

Beautiful!!! I have always loved your rustics!

Absolutly Beautiful!

I had the same issue. My business name was set, didn't want to change it, but someone had bought the .com. So what I did was just added "An" to the beginning (ex:www.businessname.com, just add something like www.thebusinessname.com) It seems to work out fine for me and I just make sure to boldly put my website on all businees cards, etc. so that people can differentiate between my website addy and actual business name. HTH!

Wow! That looks amazing! I bet those take alot of patience to make. Now I have a craving for cinnamon rolls......